Granville Austin has described the fundamental rights and directive principles as the ‘conscience of our Constitution.’ Initially, courts adopted strict and literal approach in reconciling fundamental rights and directive principles. In State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, AIR 1951 SC 228, Supreme Court held that in case of conflict between Fundamental Rights and Directives Principles, […]
The Mandal Commission was appointed by the government in 1979 under Article 340 of the Constitution. The objective of the Commission was to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes. The Commission in its findings held that apart from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) constitute nearly 52% of the […]
Equality before law and equal protection of laws connote that equality is not an absolute concept. Equals cannot be treated unequally and un-equals cannot be treated equally. Similarity of treatment does not mean identical treatment. In this sense it cannot be said that Article 14 mandates that all laws should be uniformly applicable to every […]
Doctrine of Eclipse The doctrine of eclipse is based on a principle that the law which contravenes Fundamental Rights is not void ab initio. It remains in a morbid condition and unenforceable. It is not totally wiped out from the statute book. They are valid for all past transactions i.e. transactions prior to commencement of […]
The word ‘law’ has been defined in Art. 13(3)(a) of the Constitution. The term ‘law’ includes any ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having in the territory of India the force of law. In Dwarkanath v. the State (1959) Supreme Court held that ‘administrative order’ issued by the executive officers, if subject […]
Article 2 provides that the Parliament may by law admit into Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. The power given under Article 2 is very wide. Supreme Court in RC Poudyal v. Union of India, AIR 1993 SC 1804 interpreted the expression ‘on such terms and conditions […]
Importance of Preamble Preamble is a sort of introduction to the statute and it helps in understanding the legislative intent and policy. It lays down the main objectives which the legislation intends to achieve. Preamble of the Constitution contains ideals which the Constitution seeks to achieve. It does not grant any power but it gives […]
There are primarily two types of governance system – Parliamentary and Presidential. The Indian Constitution has established a Parliamentary form of government. This system is similar for both the Central and State governments. It is also similar to the governance system of England. The main reason for adopting this form of government was that its […]
(1) Division of powers : Division of powers between Central and State governments is an essential element of the federal Constitution. This division is done by the Constitution itself. Each government is independent in its jurisdiction and does not exercise the rights and powers of other. Thus, the powers are divided among various collaborative entities […]
Indian Constitution was drafted in the mid-twentieth century. The Constitution makers drew inspiration from various sources and adopted various unique features to be incorporated in the Indian Constitution. Following are the salient features of Indian Constitution— (1) The largest Constitution : Sir Ivor Jennings has termed the Constitution of India as a largest and detailed […]
